Blurry and Ambiguous by Jonathan van Smit

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“I spent a few days simply walking the back streets of central Phnom Penh, taking lots of photos as I usually do, and one day plucked up enough courage to speak to Phouk, a girl who worked a corner where a slum alley led onto Street 51 which is a notorious red light area full of girlie bars and clubs. She spoke good English, and was quite happy for me to take photos provided that I gave her money so she could get her teeth fixed. I explained that I wanted photos related to drug use and also her work, and we arranged to meet the next day. The next day, Phouk introduced me to her friend, and took me to their room which was a small plywood shack reached by a ladder on top of the slum shanty buildings. I eventually did two photo sessions with them. I wanted…